Techno-politics

An invitation to walk in the Labor Day Parade got me thinking about labor law as an alternative path to meaningful data privacy regulation. Think about this… Continue Reading →

The FTC and New York State reported that Google has agreed to pay a record $170 million penalty to settle accusations that YouTube broke the law when it knowingly tracked and sold ads targeted to children.  In agreeing to pay this fine, Google is essentially admitting that YouTube collected user info from kids in violation Continue Reading →

It has been just a week since my essay, Deepfakes 2.0: The Sequel Is Even Scarier. Now, Bloomberg is reporting about Zao, a next-generation deepfake facial replacement tool (a la FaceApp) that is taking China by storm (details below). When you see the results of this “anyone can do it at the tap of a Continue Reading →

Whether it’s because of schadenfreude, morbid curiosity, or simple human nature, the journalistic trope “If it bleeds, it leads” never disappoints. And because anyone who creates content – which is now everyone – is in a never-ending battle for everyone else’s attention, the enduring misalignment of incentives and outcomes raises the question: Whom can you trust? Continue Reading →

Yesterday, I read an article on the MIT Technology Review website, “We aren’t terrified enough about losing the Amazon,” and I made it the top story of the day. A person whose political and ideological views are 180 degrees opposite from mine sent me a link to an article on the Forbes website, “Why Everything They Say About The Amazon, Including That It’s The ‘Lungs Of The World,’ Is Wrong.” I received hundreds of emails yesterday telling me that the media was misreporting the issue in the Amazon, and thousands of emails supporting the reporting in the MIT article. First, I apologize for not thoroughly researching the MIT Technology Review story. On scientific issues, I consider MIT a trusted source. I made the assumption that, as I do with my own essays, they fact-checked their work. At least in this case, my trust was misplaced, as it is now clear that the burning rainforest stories are a hot mess of facts, editorials, and agenda-serving factoids. [more...] Continue Reading →

Are we close to "the Amazon dieback?" It is the idea is that a certain level of deforestation will push the world's largest rainforest to a tipping point where spiraling feedback effects convert much of the forest into savannah. The Amazon rainforest holds about 17% of the world's carbon (trapped in its vegetation). According to conventional climate science wisdom, there is a deforestation tipping point. Once it is reached, the Amazon will become a producer of carbon, as opposed to a producer of oxygen. The results will be catastrophic at best, apocalyptic at worst. Get scared. Get angry. Get educated. Get involved! Continue Reading →

For about 200,000 years, we have relied on our eyes and ears to separate truth from lies and fact from fiction. Even if we ignore the rise of fake news, technology is on the verge of making it impossible to know if what we are seeing and hearing is real or fake. Here’s a roundup of what’s new, what’s next, and what you can expect in time for the 2020 election. Continue Reading →

Walmart is suing Tesla for breach of contract after Tesla solar panels ignited atop seven of its stores. The suit alleges breach of contract, gross negligence, and failure to live up to industry standards. More than 240 Walmart stores have Tesla solar systems installed, and Walmart has pre-ordered at least 45 Tesla electric semi-trucks to add to its vehicle fleet, but this looks like more than just "negotiating in public." Continue Reading →

Shelly Palmer speaks with Richard Quest about the 15th anniversary of Google's IPO and the extraordinary size of the company on Quest Means Business on CNN International. Original Airdate: August 19, 2019 Continue Reading →

Amazon says its Rekognition facial recognition software can now identify fear and seven other emotions including, happy, sad, angry, surprised, disgusted, calm and confused. What Amazon is not telling you is that facial recognition when combined with other data will be able, in short order, to take a pretty good guess about lying, cheating, jealousy, and other emotions that you do your best to hide with your "poker face." Lie detectors are so last century. Continue Reading →